Prince Hotel
__FORCETOC__ Building History Address: 900 York Mills Road Architect: Ron Thom, Reno C. Negrin Architects Construction Date: 1973; Remodeled 2003, 2012 Style: Classic Luxury Structure: Reinforced and Precast Concrete Materials: glass and concrete Developer: Seibu Group Owner: Prince Spa & Resort Operations Toronto Ltd. (2009) Chain Affiliation: Starwood Hotels Brand: Westin Prince Hotels, Inc. was established on June 4, 1956 by the Seibu Group’s core business Seibu Railway Co., Ltd. to manage its Prince Hotels located in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The first overseas hotel was launched in 1974. It was the Toronto Prince Hotel in Don Mills. The Prince Hotel is set well back from York Mills Road, on a 15-acre site, adjacent to a conservation area to the East. The design of the hotel takes advantage of this site condition by placing all public spaces along the edge of the ravine. Vast glazing on the inner perimeter of the building creates free flowing views from interior to exterior. Japanese inspired wooden gates mark the arrival to the hotel. A porte cochere draws visitors to the entrance and into the lobby from which a view of the forested ravine is afforded. To the North of the entrance is the Coffee Garden restaurant, which is raised on a platform and furnished with wooden screens and plantings that continue the atmosphere of the external environment. Le Continental Dining Room, recently designed by Toronto-based architect Dermot Sweeny, is situated at the North end of the ground floor. Art students were commissioned to apply textured paint finishes to the curved walls and ceilings which undulate throughout the restaurant. Private dining rooms are located on an upper level, with sliding glass and wooden doors. The East wing contains the linear Brandy Tree Lounge with exterior patio and retail shops along the route to a glass link, connecting the main structure to the separate Japanese restaurant. The administration offices and meeting rooms are located on the lower level. Wide corridors access the convention rooms, allowing for lounging and socializing. There is a fitness facility on the lowest floor, as well as a heated outdoor swimming pool. Half of the guestrooms are located on the first three floors of the building, while the other half are housed in the tower. The configuration of the 18-storey tower maximizes the number of corner windows and balconies. 2003 Restaurant Guide Le Continental ** 1/2 This used to be one of the city's holdouts, with a deliberately anachronistic (circa 1970) menu and setting. What a change! The new dining room, overlooking a treed landscape, is smart and unfussy. Lobster bisque with armagnac is more concentrated than the floury old versions, while escargots remain squarely in the tradition. Other starters will find approval among a (largely theoretical) younger crowd. Mains ($23-$42, chateaubriand for two pegged at $72) include a "grand vegetable plate" and a vegetarian pasta now, but meat is what the kitchen is all about. A small filet mignon ($26.50, large version $36.50) is grilled exactly medium rare as requested. It's a noble bit of aged beef, with sides of braised whole shallots, teeny roast potatoes and a small garden's worth of fresh, well-chosen veggies. To close, there are desserts and cheeses on trolleys. An expensive wine list, but plenty of cheapies run $40 to $45. A good grouping of local bottles: 16 white VQAs, nine reds, all from Niagara. $180. Westin Prince Hotel, 900 Don Mills Rd., 416-444-2511."2005 restaurant guide", Toronto Life 37.4 (Apr 2003): Insert 5-114. 2005 Restaurant Guide Katsura *** A little piece of Japan sits at the base of the towering Westin Prince hotel, surrounded by raked pebble gardens and stone pagodas. A small, distinctly Japanese structure beckons, housing the restaurant that bears the same name as the trees that surround it. Just under 20 appetizers are listed, with sashimi and tempura dominating. Enoki mushrooms, Nagano style ($10), bewitches with a parchment paper package filled with enoki and shiitake in a buttery sake glaze. Edo-mae sushi ($27.50) offers up seven different types-flounder, blue mackerel, red snapper, shrimp, salmon, clam and tuna-each mouthful rewarding with impeccably fresh, silken fish. Neon orange lumpfish roe and salmon roe offer saline baubles of flavour. Six tuna seaweed rolls round out the collection. From the robata bar, where grilled fish reigns, arrives a glistening fillet of black cod ($13), honey glazed and falling off the bone in fat flakes of slippery delight. $170. Westin Prince hotel, 900 York Mills Rd. (at Don Mills Rd.), 416-444-2511."2005 restaurant guide", Anonymous. Toronto Life, suppl. 2005 restaurant guide 39.4 (Apr 2005) Le Continental ** 1⁄2 The dining room is smart and unfussy. Lobster bisque with armagnac is sweeter, more velvety and with a flavour more concentrated than the floury old versions. Mains ($24-$45) include a "grand vegetable plate" and a vegetarian pasta now, but meat is what the kitchen is all about. A filet mignon ($31) is grilled exactly medium rare, as requested. It's a noble bit of aged beef, with sides of braised whole shallots, teeny roast potatoes and a small garden's worth of fresh, well-chosen veggies. A long wine list can be over-the-moon expensive. The cheapies run $30 to $45, but there are plenty of them. Closed Sunday and Monday. $190. Westin Prince Hotel, 900 York Mills Rd.), 416-444-2511."2005 restaurant guide", Anonymous. Toronto Life, suppl. 2005 restaurant guide 39.4 (Apr 2005) Toronto Life 2007 Katsura * 1⁄2 A boisterous theatre of teppanyaki draws groups in for acrobatics around the grill, while an elevated dining room presents a traditional menu. Firm outsourced green tea soba noodles, dried seaweed and young spinach soak up the sweetness of silky bonito broth, with a slice of pink-rimmed fish cake as a chewy treat. Ringed by charred teriyaki glaze, grilled fillet of black cod impresses, each piece flaking then melting into a caramelized delight. Good sashimi selection; shiso is of the real-as opposed to plastic-variety. Highlights include soft Spanish mackerel tingling with spicy grated ginger and green onion, and fat salmon roe wrapped in delicate flounder. Grilled teriyaki sirloin with green beans comes tender as tuna. Nice sake selection. Mains $2$-$4S. 900 York Mills Rd. (at Don Mills Rd.), 416-444-2511. "JAPANESE", Anonymous. Toronto Life 41.8 (Aug 2007): 96 Toronto Life 2009 & 2011 Katsura * 1⁄2 An impressive 12-foot-tall Buddhist sculpture presides over the stately though worn rooms at this mainstay on Toronto's Japanese restaurant scene. Thirty years on, the sushi bar and kitchen serve good conventional Japanese fare made with fresh ingredients. Omakase sashimi and sushi plates bring expertly cut fish , served with tasty sauces and traditional edible garnishes, but the element of surprise (the key to outstanding omakase menus) is missing. Fried king crab cakes, garnished with teropurabattered Japanese pepper, show some flair, yet the beef sashimi is carelessly sliced and overpriced fora two-ounce portion. The sake list is solid. Tatami rooms offer a respite from the frenetic teppanyaki tables. Mains $24-564. The Westin Prince, 900 York Mills Rd. (at Don Mills Rd.), 416-444-2511. ** "HOTEL", Anonymous. Toronto Life 43.10 (Oct 2009): 125. ref>"HOTEL", Anonymous. Toronto Life 45.4 (Apr 2011): 125 Katsura ** 1⁄2 Japanese Chef Noriyuki Tanahashi's stellar sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki have made Katsura, in the Westin Prince hotel in Don Mills, a destination for the last 15 years. His omakase menus (cheekily labelled "Trust Me" on the carte) are wonderfully adventurous. The barbecued unagi dazzles: it's torched tableside then tossed with rice, crunchy cracker crumbs and cubes of sweet omelette. Mains $30-$45. 900 York Mills Rd., 416-444-2511."Restaurants", Anonymous. Toronto Life 45.7 (Jul 2011) "UPTOWN", Anonymous. Toronto Life 45.8 (Aug 2011) "UPTOWN", Anonymous. Toronto Life 45.9 (Sep 2011) Best Restaurants 2013 Edition Katsura 1⁄2 For over 20 years, executive chef Noriyuki Tanahashi has been turning out stellar sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki. His omakase menus (cheekily labelled Trust Me on the carte) are wonderfully adventurous. A starter of egg custard studded with shiitake, shrimp, scallop and chicken is beyond silky. Crunchy panko-crusted crab cakes are greaseless and Bweet. Tanahashi's presentation is exquisite: impeccable nigiri and sashimi perch like flowers on decorated leaves, and buttery baked enoki and shiitake mushrooms arrive en papillote, tied up with a bow. Westin Prince Hotel, 900 York Mills Rd. (at Don Mills Rd.), 416444-2S11.****** "BEST RESTAURANTS 2013 EDITION", Anonymous. Toronto Life, suppl. BEST RESTAURANTS 2013 EDITION (2013) Photo Gallery References